


End of the Line

by Inauratalux (orphan_account)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Bargains, Body Horror, Depression, Dropped Fic, Except the fact that Lance is in pain and needs help, F/M, First fic to the fandom, Keith is ready to fight, Lance is gonna be put through alot., Lotor is a r00d d00d, M/M, Manipulation, Mental Illness, Multi, Nothing here is as it seems, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-12 23:00:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11171895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Inauratalux
Summary: All Characters mentioned belong to the Voltron Series.I do not condone anything that occurs in the following chapters, and I advise you to not read this if you are sensitive to any of the material mentioned in the tags.Please enjoy <3 (Feed back will be appreciated)





	1. Fresh Hell

**Author's Note:**

> All Characters mentioned belong to the Voltron Series.
> 
> I do not condone anything that occurs in the following chapters, and I advise you to not read this if you are sensitive to any of the material mentioned in the tags.
> 
> Please enjoy <3 (Feed back will be appreciated)

 

 

 _Standing before the beloved, still figure of one of his closet friends was like trying to cup water in his hands; possible with little reward. While his hands would get wet, or he_ _’d be able_ _take a sip, he wouldn_ _’t ever be able to drink all that he scooped up. So, as much he stared at that nearly lifeless body, he could appreciate that they were alive, but never enjoy their waking essence._

_Happy memories even hurt, as they can quickly become painful reminders of what Lance no longer had._

 

 

-

 

 

The crack of a whip echoed throughout the halls, followed by a pained yelp as the skin of his back was split once more.

“Do you yield, Paladin?”

“ _No!_ ”

Another crack, another cry, and another mark that quickly began to bleed like the rest.

“Do. You. Yield?”

“ _Do you?!_ ”

 

-

 

The Paladin began to slowly count the days as meals and beatings instead of hours. Or was it even hours? Perhaps it was days? Each meal seemed to come later than the rest… maybe they were trying to see how long he could go without food?

So many questions…

Like when did that bowl get there?

He shifted his weight to his hands and knees and crawled up to the plastic dish, inspecting the contents before deciding that whatever the mush was, he could stand to eat.

One couldn’t be picky. He was a fucking prisoner after all. What did he expect? Gourmet meals? Some steak and potatoes and maybe even a lovely salad?

A smile pulled at his lips at the thought of a salad. Something so fresh, so earthy would be a dream come true here. If he pretended hard enough, maybe this mush could just… be a very soggy, blended up salad. Yeah, that could work.

 

-

 

_“You can’t blame yourself!”_

_“Why not?! It’s my fault! I opened my stupid fucking mouth, Hunk! If I hadn’t told him, then maybe he’d be standing here, awake!”_

_“Keith wouldn’t blame you, Lance, c’mon! Do you really think you caused this? He was gonna learn sooner or later!”_

_“Yeah, I caused this, because maybe, if he’d learned from Pidge, Allura, or you, then he wouldn’t have been so hellbent on proving us wrong! He would’ve believed you guys!”_

_-_

 

“Tell us where they are, Paladin.”

“Who? Santa’s el--”

The whip rained down upon the blistered, scarred flesh of back mercilessly this time. They were growing so, so tired of him now.

“Tell us where the other Paladins of Voltron are!”

“Have you checked my a--”

He bit back the rest of his retort to stop the cry he wished to utter this time, hanging his head to avoid looking up at the pompous piece of shit that deigned to have a harem strode across his lap and feet while torturing someone. Asshole couldn’t even take beating the piss out of someone seriously apparently.

“You can either tell us, or we can start removing some of your toes, Paladin~,” The Galran Prince cooed, golden eyes twinkling with sadistic pleasure at the thought of the screams he could coax out of his new toy.

“Boohoo. I’ve lost more important shit in this war, dipsh--” And he screamed, screamed until the pain subsided and was replaced by a numbed sensation.

They’d removed his big toe. How rude.

“Which of these things are these? The Champion, or your little red lover~?”

“My farm.”

“...Farm…?”

“Yeah. Farm of _fucks_  I _used_  to give.”

The Prince scowled and raised his hand again, signaling the Soldier standing behind their specimen to remove another toe.

 

-

 

_Lance watched Keith’s chest rise and fall steadily when he was outside the pod, only leaving when they stuffed him back into the Cryochamber. He didn’t like seeing the Red Paladin frozen, it was too close to a state of death for him to be comfortable with._

_Then again, Comas weren’t any better._

_-_

 

He laid against the floor of his cell for what seemed like a lifetime, too scared to fall asleep, and too tired to try and distract himself from his thoughts.

Maybe one day they’d come get him. Maybe Hunk, Pidge, or… or even Keith would kick in that door and rescue him.

They’d be able to help him.

‘ _They aren’t coming, though, Lance. You’re a liability. You cost them too much.’_

The Paladin squeezed his eyes shut, bringing his hands to his ears as he tried to block out the nasty whispers of his subconscious.

_‘If Shiro could see you now, do you think he’d even bother? You’re pathetic. Not even a damn wheel, Lance, just a useless bit of trash in the backseat.’_

He sighed, ignoring the way his own tears stung his eyes, and curled in on himself. If only Blue were here to help him. She’d save him. She tried once, after all.

_‘And they captured her because of you.’_

Because of him.

….maybe he did deserve all the blame, in the end.

 

-

 

Laughter and howls of delight surrounded Lance as he was pushed up onto his pedestal. The Guards were all enjoying themselves, now, as though he were some sort of version of Galran Saturday Night Live.

Even Lotor’s Harem perked up at his anguished display, wearing little smiles for their Prince and nodding to his questions. Did they enjoy the view? Nod. Did they think a old fashioned arena fight would do the Paladin some good? Nod. Did they want him to squeal like a earthen pig for their prince? Nod.

It amused Lance, now. His suffering was just a game to others who also suffered.

They hadn’t done anything wrong though besides be pretty, though. So for now, he was sure he deserved their pitiless grins.

One man’s pain was another man’s gain, right?

 

-

 

“Lotor’s growing bored of you, Paladin.”

Lance glanced over at the Guard who’d been assigned to force feeding him, “Oh? Not screaming enough for him?”

“You’re just not very attention worthy.”

The Paladin snickered, batting away the fuzzy purple hand that tried to spoon-feed him some of that same mush he’d been living off of. The Guard growled at his antics and shook him before jamming the metal spoon into his mouth.

“He’s tempted to kill you and scrap your Lion.”

Another spoon-full interrupted Lance before he could even dignify the statement with a response. Once he swallowed the mush down, the Paladin grabbed the Guard’s hand and hissed, “What do you mean, _scrap_?”

Those golden eyes crinkled around the edges, a tell tale sign of their wicked grin, “Break down, melt, and recycle your Lion for materials. Maybe if you don’t want him to get bored, you should be a little more interesting, yeah?”

 

-

 

When Lance was alone again, the Galra’s words haunted him. Were they really going to scrap Blue? Use her for spare parts?! But why? Was it because she was useless otherwise? But she was apart of Voltron, they couldn’t have Voltron without her…

Lance pushed his forehead against the cold floor, panicking.

_‘Maybe you should scream for him. Let go of your pride for once and save someone else from suffering for your mistakes.’_

“Y-yeah.” He croaked to the empty air, “Yeah. Maybe…maybe I should.”


	2. Another Target

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Information is exchanged for their safety.

_ “He won’t wake up, will he?” _

_ No one had the courage to even look up from their plates of goo. Not even Hunk. _

_ “He’s been asleep for four months. He should be awake!” _

_ Allura looked up from her plate finally, expression worn. “Lance,” She murmured, “Perhaps it’d be best if…we… if we began to look for a new Red Paladin…?” _

_ No. No no no no NO. _

_ “No! He’s still alive! Red wouldn’t allow it!” _

_ “We have to move on--” _

_ “How could you give up on him like that?! You haven’t given up on Shiro!” _

-

He was dragged before his lion unceremoniously, and dropped with little care at the command of the Prince.

“Paladin, I’m sure you’re aware of what we’re going to do to your Lion if you don’t cooperate with us.”

Lance lifted his head from the floor and fixed Lotor with a hateful stare. The Prince grinned from ear to ear, pleased that he’d been able to get such a strong reaction that wasn’t the Paladin’s endless sarcasm.

“Now, I know your stay with us hasn’t been the most… pleasant--”

“For the love of god stop fucking sugar coating it, asshole!”

Lotor sighed and waved his fingers towards the Guards standing over the Blue Paladin. On signal, both guards stomped down Lance’s shoulders, eliciting a shrill string of curses from his battered form.

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t interrupt me, Paladin~.”

The paladin didn’t bother to dignify the Prince with a response. He kept his cheek to the floor like usual and stayed quiet.

Lotor steepled his fingers against his chins and smiles down at the display, “As I was saying before you so  _ rudely _  interrupted me, I, Prince Lotor, wish to offer you a rather generous business proposal~.”

Silence permeated the room. Lotor hummed his displeasure, but didn’t beckon for the Guards to resume their abuse.

“I’ll take your lack of a response as a request to continue, then~!” He cheered, disturbing the slaves curled up around his legs. How _  they _  managed to ignore prisoner’s screams was a mystery to Lance.

Lance blinked a few times to refocus his vision, and then lifted his gaze to make eye contact with the Prince.

“My father and I decided that killing you would be too easy, but that destroying your Lion would take far too long. So, we thought we’d give you another chance before we inconvenienced ourselves and scrapped your gorgeous lion.”

Lotor took a breath and glanced over to the technicians stationed by the sides of the trapped Lion, “If you answer us, then we won’t go about stripping her down to her most basic wiring. Now, this may seem less than generous, but here’s another bit of deal; For every honest answer, you earn a privilege. For every useful answer, a right. But, for every lie, we drag you here, and we make you watch as we pry the plating from your Blue Lion.”

The Paladin nodded wordlessly. He had to do this.

_ ‘Betraying your friends for a piece of metal? Pathetic.’ _

That piece of metal was a sentient creature and the only thing that recognized his  _ value! _

_ ‘What value does a Traitor have?’ _

Lance squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to ward away the tears that threatened to fall. Lotor was still watching. He had to speak.

“What do you,” He choked out, voice hoarse and mouth dry, “Wh-what do you want t-to know?”

He wished Lotor’s grin hadn’t been as disturbing as it had been.

-

_ The Blue Lion lowered her head when Lance stormed into her cargo bay, her purr lightly shaking her metal body as he leaped into his seat and grabbed the controls. _

_ An inquisitive presence pervaded his mind, digging around for answers as he entered a command for the hangar door to open. _

_ “Sorry, Blue, but we can’t sleep tonight.” _

_ Why? _

_ “We need to get answers. We need to get Keith  _ and _  Shiro back.” _

__

_ - _

__

“Where are the other Paladins of Voltron?” Lotor inquired, eyeing his barely cooperating prisoner. He hadn’t been entirely sure such a unresponsive creature would provide Intel if they threatened the safety of the Lion, but actions provided results, and here the Blue Paladin was.

“With the Castle Ship.”

“I see. Esfir, make sure our Blue Paladin is put on a more frequent meal schedule.”

The soldier standing near Lotor nodded and typed in the command on his tablet.

“Can you confirm that Allura is the last Altean alive?”

“That’s gonna get two answers.”

Lotor chuckled, “I suggest you combine it into one statement, Paladin. I’d hate to cancel that change in the meal scheduling.”

When Lance’s eyes narrowed in a look of contemplation, Lotor gestured towards the Blue Lion. The reminder schooled Lance back into a more compliant state of mind.

“...We are unsure if there are any more Alteans in the universe besides Allura and Coran of Altea.”

Lotor’s brow arched, intrigue evident as he leaned forwards in his seat, “Coran, you say? Tell me, are we speaking of Alfor’s former Adviser?”

It pained Lance to give out information like this… but… Blue was all he had left. He had to keep her safe.

“Yes.”

“...I see. Delightful. Esfir, make sure the Blue Lion is moved back into her temporary Hangar and that the Guards allow our very useful Paladin to visit her whenever he wishes~!”

Lance looked up, eyes widening. “Visit?”

The same perturbing grin settled on Lotor’s expression, and the Paladin visibly blanched.

“Why of course. You’re being such a good Paladin, Lance. Why wouldn’t I let you visit your Lion~?” The Prince cooed, venomous mirth in his every word. The Paladin wished that he didn’t feel happy, or hopeful. He’d just handed over information, however useless, to his friends’ enemies.

_ ‘Friends? They aren’t even looking for you.’ _

He didn’t know that! Maybe they were!

_ ‘They would’ve found you by now, then, Lance. Face it,  _ **_ they don’t care _ ** _.’ _

A whimper left him as he was hoisted up into the arms of another Soldier, apparently about to be carried like a infant to his cell. His own mind continued to taunt him, leaving only more and more doubts left and less and less faith in his comrades.

After all, even if they were looking for him, why would they want someone who just painted a target on Coran’s back?

_ ‘They wouldn’t.’ _


	3. Lies for a Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gambling pays off if you're Royalty.

Dark eyes fluttered open. The frost that chilled the lily white skin of Paladin ’s face fell away in flakes as he stirred.

As he shifted in the pod, the sound of his movements woke the red headed man slumbering over his paperwork. The cyan marks beneath the man’s eyes crinkled as his face scrunched up in a look of aggravation before he bothered to open his own eyes and meet the gaze fixed upon him by the Paladin.

Seconds passed slowly as the two stared at one another through the quickly warming glass of the pod.

“...Keith, my boy?”

-

The Blue Lion’s golden eyes flashed as Lance approached her giant figure, a pleased and curious purr vibrating the hangar as she regarded his battered yet unhindered appearance.

Lance’s heart ached as he looked up at Blue’s expressionless exterior. She’d just come online, momentarily allowed to function as they turned off their dampeners.

“H-hey girl,” He called to his Lion, “Y-you doing alright?”

Galran soldiers shifted uncomfortably along the sides of the Hangar as the Lion lowered her maw to the human, watching as it opened, inviting Lance inside.

The Paladin reached to stroke one of her metallic canines built into her muzzle, shaking his head. “Sorry, Girl, but I can’t pilot you. Rules are rules, yeah?” She agreed reluctantly, snapping her jaws shut and settling with offering her nose and paws as places to sit.

_ I don’t deserve this _ , Lance thought as he embraced the bent edge of her muzzle,  _ You should be disappointed in me. _

_ Why? _  Came the gentle, inquisitive nudge in the back of his mind. The softness of it only served to vex the Blue Paladin.

_ I told them things. Mostly useless things, but… _

An image of Coran flashed in his mind, evoked by the prying mental presence of his Lion. Her own mind backed away at the information, and Lance was awash with shame once again. Even she couldn’t--

Shame and loneliness were aggressively pushed away as she wormed her way through each of his recent memories. No memory, no thought was left untouched by her cold presence, and Lance found himself relaxing against the metal of her claws.

Eventually Blue stopped, and Lance braced himself for her anger.

As he screwed his eyes shut and turned away from her, Blue’s compassionate presence pushed its way to the front of his mind, making him falter in his actions.

_ She understood. _

Esfir gestured for the Soldier’s to remain staring down the Paladin they looked away as the lanky human crumpled against the paw of his Lion in a mess of tears.

-

_ “Where is he?!” _

_ “Lance?!” _

_ “Allura! Hunk! Please,” Pidge plead, “We have to calm down!” The tiny Green Paladin held onto Hunk’s arm, Coran quick to do the same with Allura. _

_ Both the Princess and Yellow Paladin were affronted by the outwardly collected appearance of their peers. _

_ “He took off! Without telling us!” Allura yelled, shaking her arm from Coran’s grasp. “First he got Keith in trouble! Now he’s abandoning us!” _

_ Hunk’s concern for his close friend turned to wrath as he turned on the Princess, eyes alight with an unfathomable fury. _

_ “HE DIDN’T GET KEITH INTO TROUBLE!” _

_ “H-hunk!” _

_ “Yes he  _ **_ did _ ** _! If he hadn’t have told Keith that Pidge found Shiro’s location, both of them would be here!” _

_ “He told Keith  _ **_ because _ ** _  he deserved to know!” _

_ “HE CRIPPLED US! KEITH WAS THE LAST ONE CAPABLE--” _

_ “STOP BLAMING HIM FOR EVERYTHING, HE WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP!” _

_ “HUNK!” _

_ “YOU JUST STAND AT YOUR PEDESTAL AND WALLOW IN YOUR OWN SELF RIGHTEOUS PITY AND-” _

_ Coran roughly pushed Hunk aside, not even bothering to raise his voice as Pidge shouted for their attention. When the large Hawaiian stumbled away from his shouting contest with the Princess, Pidge took up his place and shoved an accusatory finger in her face. _

_ “You!” They snapped, “You blaming him for this doesn’t solve anything! Stop being a quiznacking infant and grow the hell up!” _

_ Allura ground her teeth together as she stepped towards the Green Paladin, but Coran situated himself between his Princess and his Paladins once again. Instead of pushing Pidge away, though, he slapped his hands against Allura’s shoulders and gave her a shake. _

_ “All of you,” Coran spat, “All of you need to stop fighting.” _

_ He leveled a stern glare at Pidge and Hunk as he took another breath, “Conflict between us doesn’t solve anything. Lance did things he shouldn’t have, but he did it for the better-” _

_ “Good intentions don’t s-” _

_ “Child, do not interrupt me.” Coran gave Allura’s shoulders a squeeze, “Alfor would be ashamed of your behavior. We are a team. Teams don’t fight among themselves, they  _ **_ support _ ** _  one another.” _

__

_ - _

__

Lotor eyed his father with blatant contempt, ignoring his Harem as they cowered behind him. Haggar also looked mildly disgruntled as the corners of her mouth twisted into a frown, though the look was more or less for Lotor instead of Zarkon.

“Father.” He spoke, tone careful around the Tyrant.

Zarkon canted his head, violet hued eyes sizing his son up with a glimmer of annoyance. His son had begun to annoy him far more recently, constantly insisting he could get the Blue Paladin to cooperate if he just had more  _ time _ .

“You’re out of time, S-”

“Coran is alive.”

The tension in the room thickened, and Haggar shifted, turning her gaze expectantly to the Emperor.

“...Alfor’s Cousin lives, you say?”

“Our pesky Paladin says~.” Lotor corrected smugly.

Zarkon inhaled sharply, considering his words carefully before he sighed, “…Are you sure he is telling the truth?”

Haggar muttered something under her breath, but Lotor spoke over her. Confidence oozed from the half-blood as Lotor chuckled, “How else would he know the name of Alfor’s kin? I’m sure our Princess has spoken little of the history of the Paladins or Altea, as even  _ Shiro _  was blissfully unaware of your position as the Black Paladin.”

The Emperor nodded along with the logic, “Yes, yes. May I ask how you came of this information though, hm? I doubt the Blue Paladin handed that vital piece over without some form of  _ encouragement _ .”

Lotor’s smile became a grin.

“I threatened to take apart the Blue Lion.”

A snort escaped Haggar, but Zarkon’s brow twitched.

“You  _ what? _ ”

“I told him if he didn’t cooperate with me, we’d take his Lion apart piece by piece.”

“And how did you accomplish making him believe this impossible feat could be done?”

Lotor raised his shoulders in a half hearted shrug, “He’s gullible enough. I simply staged some of our Mechanics around the Lion with some tools, and let his worries do the rest of the work.”

“I see.” Zarkon mused, “Continue then. We’ll see how long his charade can go on.”

-

Lance stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long time. Multiple times, the Guards had come in to check on him, and each time, they just found him staring at himself. At first, Esfir and his Guards thought it was out of shock because of his gaunt features, but after far too many times of him walking in on Lance yelling at himself, he came to realize it was self loathing.

Self Loathing did a number on the Paladin.

Meals were missed, even though he should have been ravenous. He refused to sleep except at his Lion’s feet (Esfir was sure it was truly the only way the Human could sleep, as he seemed far more relaxed there than anywhere else). Lance even turned down invitations for baths.

And now, Lance looked at himself, and promptly wished he had the strength to bite through his own tongue.

_ They’re never coming for you. _

He knew that.

_ Keith almost died because of you. _

He accepted the malicious thoughts with quiet tears.

_ Your family would be ashamed of you. _

He thought of his little sisters and brothers, a wistful smile on his face as he reached up and rubbed at his cheek.

_ Blue’s going to die because of you. _

** No. **

_ They’re going to tear her apart because of you. _

“No.”

_ Blue is trapped because of you, stuck, useless, and lonely. They’ll grow tired of you again eventually. She’s going to die  _ **_ alone _ ** _  because of you. _

Lance pressed his face into his hands in defeat and cried openly.

-

“Which Paladins of Voltron are active?” Esfir inquired as Lance curled himself around one of Blue’s claws.

The Blue Lion purred, and images of her Kin filled Lance’s mind. He sighed, thankful for her assurance.

“Yellow and Green.”

The Galran Captain pursed his lips and stared Lance down, as thought he were attempting to see into his mind. Lance just met the searching gaze with his own tired look.

“And not Red?”

“No.”

Lance didn’t even bother to withhold anything now. It wasn’t like they didn’t know this themselves, as they’d sent Red spiraling through a Galaxy and into a crumbling planet robbed of its Quintessence.

Or the fact they had Shiro locked away somewhere, where he’d be thrown into an Arena daily with little food or rest.

Lance wished he could beg Lotor for the former Team leader to be kept out of the ring. Shiro had already suffered so much before. The Blue Paladin couldn’t even begin to comprehend the pain he had to be in.

“I see, “ Esfir hummed, pecking at the tablet he held with his forefinger, “So I suspect the Red Paladin hadn’t recovered from the canon shot his Lion took?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you. That will be all for tonight.”


	4. Smoldering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haggar pulls her strings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter, sorry! However, it was needed to help progress the story.

Haggar kept her hood low as she entered Lotor ’s room, careful to avoid stepping on the men and women sprawled across cushions on the ground. Even if she had little love in her heart for the members of the Prince’s Harem, she didn’t fancy listening to the disgruntled cries of some pathetic creature and Lotor’s nasally waking bitching. Each step brought her closer and closer to the Prince’s bed, though, and she sighed when she spotted a familiar face pressed against Lotor’s chest.

“ _ Captain _  Esfir,” The Druid murmured, an amused lilt in her voice as she regarded the slowly waking figure nestled in Lotor’s embrace.

Esfir’s eyes peeked open, the golden hues glaring at Haggar through the darkness of the Prince’s Quarters.

“ _ Scandalous _ .”

The Galra’s expression contorted with confusion, only to twist further in horror and recognition as his jaw went slack. He gaped at the Druid, ears plastered to the sides of his head as he stared at Haggar.

“M-M-m-I-This--”

Haggar cut him off by placing a finger to his lips.

“Shh, pet. Don’t wake him. I was going to ask him to do a favor for me, but it seems I can bypass his annoying cries altogether and just let you relay my message to him yourself.”

Esfir squinted at her, but nodded anyways.

“Good, good. Now…”

-

_ Someone’s coming. _

Lance’s eyes shot open as he sat up, disoriented for only a few passing moments until Blue’s message registered. He raised his hand to shield his eyes just as the lights were turned on in the hangar and the main entrance slid open with a beep.

“Paladin.”

The Cuban boy squared his shoulders up in agitation and glared daggers at the Galran Prince.

“What?” Lance spits, moving to hold Blue’s claw, “Isn’t it like, the middle of the fucking night?”

Lotor shrugged, “I’m not sure, is it?”

“...I wouldn’t know. There’s no clocks.”

“Exactly! So it could very well be morning for you! So how about you shut your mouth and be a good boy, hm?” Lotor chuckled, gesturing for one of his Guards to set a chair down for him.

Lance sighed in defeat and took up his seat between Blue’s claws. Lotor observed his closeness to the Blue Lion with intrigue, the corners of his mouth permanently curled into a condescending grin, “I heard you haven’t been leaving the Hangar recently.”

“...So?”

“Your privileges were to be able to visit your Lion, not stay with her. Of course, I can easily change this if you promise to do a little something for my favorite Druid~?”

weary, but in no position to decline, Lance nodded.

Lotor’s eyes shone with a feral hunger, and Lance shuddered.


	5. Flickering Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue's dedication and Coran's compassion are priceless.

_Roars echoed throughout the comm links available via Lance_ _’s discarded helmet as the Blue Lion slammed herself against the walls of the ship. Soldiers all scattered, narrowly dodging claws and teeth as the rampaging left leg of Voltron shredded alloy and wiring alike just to get to where they’d taken her Paladin._

_The havoc she wrought on the ship was a testament of her sensitive bond to Lance._

_At first, all had just been a simple struggle._

_She’d kept her jaws locked, refusing to open her maw no matter what they did to her. Lance, of course, wasn’t sure how much she could handle. Selflessly, he’d ordered her to open up, let him go._

_Watching Lance stumble away bound and gagged was nerve wracking for the Lioness. Every fiber in her being_ **_demanded_ ** _she follow him, defend him from the enemy._

_But, he’d specifically ordered her to stay put, to be a ‘good girl’ and wait for him. So, she listened, and stayed._

_The Galra overestimated Lance’s control over Blue when they laid their hands on him and marked his face. They’d placed him as her Master, her Ruler, when he was her Partner and Friend. Lance was no more in control of her as he would have been of Hunk, and she made sure they knew this._

-

 

Coran and Allura stood together on the bridge, both Alteans silent as Keith processed what had happened since he was knocked unconscious. Hunk and Pidge were seated across from one another, neither one quite looking at their Right Arm.

Keith himself appeared overwhelmed. His skin had taken on a sickly sheen to it in the time it had taken Coran to carefully relay the entire story of Lance’s departure, and at some point as Allura unhelpfully admitted that they had no clue of his whereabouts, had squeezed his eyes shut.

Pidge kicked their feet against the ground after a few minutes, their chair rolling until it bumped against Keith’s with a loud _clack_.

“... _Hey,_  buddy, you okay?” They murmured, placing both small and freckled hands on the armrest of Keith’s chair.

“Yeah.” The words were a dismal attempt at coming off as anything other than a humongous forewarning that the Red Paladin was lying through his teeth.

Pidge uncharacteristically backed away, however, and let him be. The rest of the remaining Voltron team followed suit and filed out of the room. Keith was left alone in the bleach white room with only the stars to provide him with any solace.

 

-

 

Lance was slammed down against a dissection table. He struggled in vain against the gauntlet covered hands that held him fast as the leather straps were secured around his wrists, ankles, and throat.

While he snapped his teeth and snarled, he quit jerking against his restraints after they pulled the collar too tight in order to startle him out of screaming and moving too much. Even after they loosened it, it was still too tight and constricted his breathing.

Haggar paced beside his table as he began to settle down enough for her to get him to at least acknowledge that she was trying to talk to him.

“Paladin, I know this might be upsetting, but this is for both of our betterment. It will allow us to become well acquainted with your biology, and for you to have a permanent residence in the Blue Lion’s hangar.”

Lance bared his teeth at her, but didn’t make a sound. She took it as a sign to continue.

“I will need you to trust me, however. What we are going to do here will be very painful, but we cannot sedate you. Not until we are sure what your biology resembles closest, and we can work from there.”

“Trust y-you?!” The Paladin croaked, “Why should I?”

Haggar smiled, “Well, so that you can be confident that whatever we do to you, we can easily repair.” The hooded Druid slid her hand from his sternum down to rest against his navel, “Though, it’s more for you than for us.”

 

-

 

“It seems Humans don’t vary too widely from each other. They have different melanin levels from one another as we’ve seen evident in skin color, as well as natural histamine output levels, and insulin. Specimen Alpha’s test samples showed a steady rate of natural insulin compared to Specimen Beta’s levels, which we had to accommodate for…” One of the Scientists working under Haggar tapped at their tablet with clawed fingertips, “…Specimen Gamma’s levels are consistent with that of Alpha’s. So, I’ve theorized that Beta’s condition isn’t as common. However, I did notice a startling lack of Antigens in Gamma’s blood samples. While Alpha contains the galas-dominant blood cells much like Beta, Beta also shares the Glucs-dominant blood cell type with Gamma. It appears that there are multiple human blood types. Haggar, what do you think of all this?”

“I think it’s interesting, but it’s not what I’m concerned with yet. Based on what you found, which species could we compare them to?”

“Alteans are a close match at first, but Humans are warm blooded, and lack guanine crystals in their skin…which, I know, I know, has little to do with how the Humans react to a sedative, but…”

“But?”

Another Scientist in the lab cuts off the one Haggar was speaking to, “Amylobarbitone can be used as a temporary sedative! If I’m correct, in high doses, it’ll put Specimen Gamma right to sleep safely, instead of having him scream in our ears when we open him up for later projects.”

“I see. Do that then. It’s a shame we didn’t bother with this when we still had Alpha and Beta in our grasp.”

 

-

 

_The Black Lion would only move during the hours of the Castle-ship’s Night Cycle. Each morning led to a well anticipated check-in, finding the robotic lion either shifted two feet to the left, or upside down entirely._

_Allura took it as a sign that maybe what Pidge had found during one of their raids on a Prison Ship wasn’t true, and that Shiro was alive and kicking somewhere._

_Hunk and Pidge also once enjoyed visiting the Black Lion, but the suffocating anxiety that came with knowing Blue wasn’t in her hangar whenever they passed by the door was all it took to keep the Duo from keeping their visits regular._

_Instead of visits, however, Pidge happily dragged Hunk from his room in the wee hours of the morning to crowd Coran in the Engine room. With Coran’s ‘assistance’ (it was more like Supervising, since Pidge already knew how to work the system) to locate the Black Lion’s Hangar bay camera feed and watch as the sentient being trotted around or fell over at random._

_A hair bow stuck between his teeth, Hunk grunted questioningly as the Black Lion began to stand vertically against a wall. Pidge shrugged, too caught up in staring down the Lion through the camera to complain when he accidentally tugged their hair a bit too tight into the bushy pony tail._

_“It doesn’t seem like Shiro is in danger, but I don’t understand why she’d be moving if he wasn’t.”_

_Coran toyed with his mustache, nodding absently, “I think I have to agree. The Lions are strange, but even this behavior is out of the ordinary. Perhaps, if Shiro is alive, she’s just moving to be in the closest direction of him?”_

_“Makes sense, but wouldn’t Shiro have contacted us if was alive?”_

_“He would have, but he might have lost his helmet, or had it taken from him like when Nyma knocked away Lance’s helmet.” Hunk offers._

_Pidge steepled her hands to tuck her thumbs under her chin with an unsteady exhale, “Or, what I found was true, and he is lost to the vacuum of space.”_

_The red headed Altean rested a gloved hand on Pidge’s shoulder, massaging her shoulder sub consciously. Briefly, Hunk wonders if Coran’s gentle and compassionate nature was his own thing, or if all Alteans had once been as kind as he was now._

_Coran, despite staring off into space, was still listening when Pidge expressed her fears. He nodded. He hummed his agreement or grunted in indifference. He even smiled that reassuring smile a few times, but what really stood out to Hunk in this private moment between the Green Paladin and Allura’s Royal Adviser was when he hooked his arm around them in a side hug and whispered “I believe in you, number five.”_


End file.
